When we were staying in Cape Town we heard on the news that a ship had run aground in Table Bay. The container ship, the Maersk Sealand, was anchored in the road stead outside the harbour awaiting docking. The night before there was a typical Cape Of Storms winter storm and the ship dragged anchor and went aground at Sunset Beach near Milnerton before the crew could move her!
The salvage operation that took place was handled very well and at first the attempts by tugs to pull the ship off the sand bank failed and for the next few weeks a plan was put into operation. First all the bunker oil was pumped out to make her lighter. Then containers that were identified as having hazardous cargo were removed by helicopter.
During this time the event drew enormous crowds of onlookers that thronged the beach near the ship. Security guards had to be employed to prevent anyone who had ideas of salvaging (stealing) anything from the ship! We also joined the crowds and took some pictures of the event.
Finally on the next high spring tide two of the biggest tugs available from Cape Town Harbour managed to pull the Maersk Sealand into deeper water and then towed her into the harbour to unload her cargo. Miraculously there was only minor damage sustained!
Credit: My own blog and photos.
